Resonance

Chapter 1 - Therea Vivas

Note: Hey! This is gonna be the first chapter. You might wonder why there are three large parts, and that's because I'm experimenting with some writing styles to see which one is the most comfortable. Also, it's because this story is split into three main parts, so to speak. Furthermore, the first part is the most boring (imo), so if you don't want to read 3k words, scroll down until you see the first dashed line.

Therea sat on the front porch in an old yellow dress of her mother's, waiting for something to happen. It was a sweltering morning, and beads of sweat crawled down her back, one by one, racing towards the cool summer ground.

This is what it must feel like to have the plague, she thought. The sun trudged slowly through the crimson skies as she leaned back, feeling the soil pressing against the back of her neck and hoping that this heat would die away soon. Really, all of yesterday had been as boring and as gruesome as this; having no friends nearby was extraordinarily uneventful. At least when they were here, there was someone to talk to, to confide in. But they had all left, not wanting to die a painful diseased death. So all this summer was good for was fattening up and longing for fall to come, to take her away to a better place. 

From inside, a high pitched feminine voice called out.

"Breakfast, darling!"

Therea sat up now, feeling like an ant struggling through a vat of honey.

"Alright mother. I'm coming."

As she rose to her feet, a unsettling chill ran through her, stabbing into her forehead like a thousand cold daggers. The world seemed to tremble around her, shaking like a mental earthquake.

Therea wobbled towards the front door, clutching her rapidly heating forehead with one hand as if to prevent it from exploding. Her fingers turned white with exertion, her fingernails digging into the soft flesh. Do I... do I have the plague?

"Honey, what's wrong?" her mom asked.

That's impossible. I've barely left the grounds. "Oh.....I'm feeling a little dizzy," she replied, "I want to get some sleep...."

Slowly looking her over, Therea's mom seemed to doubt her words but finally, after what seemed like a millennium, she spoke.

"Alright. Sit down. I'll get you to bed after breakfast."

Therea trudged over to the kitchen, pulling out her chair and plopping into it, reveling in the comfort of the old oak armchair.

I can't wait to sleep, she thought, feeling the temperature in her head rise like the inside of a volcano, threatening to erupt at any moment.

Her mom returned a few minutes later with a servant, who set a loaf of bread and some cheese in front of Therea.

"Eat up, darling." she said.

Bending over, Therea slowly consumed the bread, but left the cheese untouched. She prodded the squishy mass a few times with her fork. Thinking about disease made her lose her apetite, so she decided to leave it be. Nodding at the maid to take the leftovers away, Therea stood up and hobbled to the stairs, placing one hand on the rail, and letting the smooth wood guide her up to her room. There was a creaking noise with every step, though she couldn't tell where it was coming from, the stairs or her joints. The journey itself felt like a 10 year long odyssey, filled with shipwrecks on dangerous islands called tables. She entered as stealthily as a wooden horse and set sail towards the paradise that was sleep.

Almost.....there...., she thought, crawling the last few inches to her bed, falling into its cozy warm embrace. As her eyelids drifted shut, Therea smiled. Rest.